VITAMINS, ANTI-OXIDANTS, AND OMEGA-3'S CAN IMPROVE YOUR SKIN...

It’s human nature.  We all want the quick fix.  We all want to get the great result without thinking about it too much.  Most of us don’t blink an eye at spending a fortune on skincare products whose ingredients are unpronounceable.  (You know, of course, that Americans spend BILLIONS annually on skin care products).

And yet one of the most effective steps you can take to improve the skin stares us right in the face every day.  Yep, your fifth grade health teacher was right.  Nutrition, along with a healthy lifestyle, is the key, the key to youthful, radiant skin and along with that, the key to an improved self-image.

Before I get to the vitamin part and exactly what you should take, allow me to stand up in my stirrups and tell you how important stress management is.  I’ve written a lot about it but the importance of managing stress is critical to improving everything from the lines on your face to your ability to get a good night’s sleep.

Get six to eight glasses of water into your body every day.  Not fluids, water.  The water in your coffee (even my favorite Sumatra dark) isn’t enough. 

Make sure to incorporate five to seven servings of colored fruits and veggies into your diet every day.  A serving is about the size of your fist.  Broccoli, peppers, kale, salads, olives, cucumbers, they all count as anti-oxidants.  Anti-oxidants help negate the oxidative stresses from sunshine, smoke, automobile exhaust, chemicals, you name it.

Just about everyone who writes about this has their own favorite list of vitamins.  Here’s mine: (It is not the gospel, but it is a start.  And there is no multi- that contains everything…at least no multi- you could swallow.)

Vitamin B – You want to take a B complex that has at least 100 mg of Thiamin.

Vitamin C – Actually helps to protect the skin against sun damage and has been said to diminish wrinkles and dullness.  I recommend 1,000 mg daily.

Vitamin D – Builds strong bones, seems to improve the immune system, and has shown to help acne.  The latest guidelines call for about 2,000 IU daily

Vitamin E – Helps combat environmental skin damage.  400 IU daily

Co-enzyme Q-10 – Powers the mitochondria in active cells such as the skin and the heart.  200 mg daily

Omega-3 fatty acids – The list of what this does is endless—it has been shown to lessen the chance of auto-immune diseases, combat brain shrinkage that occurs with age, and help the cardiovascular system.  You want 1000 mg daily and you want to be sure you are getting at least 400 mg of the DHA component. 

There are some good resources you can check such as Life Extension Foundation or the website that Andrew Weil, MD, maintains with Tieraona Low Dog, MD, people I admire greatly. Dr. Weil has a great questionnaire on his site that is very helpful.

Gotta go,

Doc